TAMPA BAY—United State Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater saved a man and his dog on Thursday during hurricane Helene, after his 36-ft sailboat became disabled and started taking on water approximately 25 miles off Sanibel Island, Florida, according to a social media report from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Emergency crews continue work to rescue people trapped in flooded homes after the hurricane roared ashore as a powerful Category 4 storm.
Kansas deployed a Type 1 swift water search and rescue team, Kansas Task Force 1, through the Office of the State Fire Marshal to assist the state of Florida and local crews responding to the storm.
The Kansas team will conduct search and rescue operations, provide basic life support (BLS) medical care, transport humans and animals to the nearest location for secondary air or land transport, provide shore-based and boat-based water rescue, provide animal rescues, and support helicopter and urban search and rescue in water environments.
As of noon Friday, at least 21 people were reported dead in four states.
The storm generated a massive storm surge and knocked out power to millions of customers in several states.